ED2021-171 (Prayer Wheel)

ED2021-171 (Prayer Wheel) image

A Tibetan-style prayer wheel. The wheel is copper-colored with gold and blue accents. It is held up by a dark-brown, wooden handle. The top of the wheel comes off so the user can insert prayer scrolls inside of the object. It is played by shaking the object to make the wheel spin. The tag with the object reads: "Tibetan prayer wheels, or mani, are devices used for spreading spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of thin paper imprinted with many copies of the mantra (prayer) Om Mani Padme Hum are wound around an axle in a protective container, and spun round and round in a clockwise direction. Typically, larger decorative versions of the syllables of the mantra are also carved on the outside cover of the wheel. The earliest known mention of prayer wheels is in an account written by a Chinese pilgrim, in 400 AD, while traveling through the area now known as Ladakh."